316 WORKS OF ST. CHRYSOSTOM. [HOMILY XII. of Paul s squalidness within that prison-house, and thou wilt burn for that beauty, and deem this the extreme of ugliness, and wilt groan bit terly through longing for those bonds. Wouldest thou daub thee with pastes and pigments, and such like things? Think of his tears : a three- years space, night and day, he ceased not to weep. (Acts xx. 31.) With this adorning deck thy cheek ; these tears do make it bright. I say not, that thou weep for others, (I wish indeed it could be even so, but this is too high for thee,) but for thine own sins I advise thee to do this. Hast thou ordered thy slave to be put in bonds, and wast thou angry, and exasperated? Re member Paul s bonds, and thou wilt straightway stay thine anger ; remember that we are of the bound, not the binders, of the bruised in heart, not the bruisers. Hast thou lost self-control, and shouted loud in laughter? Think of his lamen tations, and thou wilt groan ; such tears will show thee brighter far. Seest thou any persons rioting and dancing? Remember his tears. What fountain has gushed forth so great streams as those eyes did tears? " Remembermy tears " (Acts xx. 31), he saith, as here "bonds." And with reason he spoke thus to them, when he sent for them from Ephesus to Miletus. For he was then speaking to teachers. He demands of those therefore, that they should sympathize 1 also, but of these that they should only encoun ter dangers. What fountain wilt thou compare to these tears? That in Paradise, which watereth the whole earth? But thou wilt have mentioned nothing like it. For this fount of tears watered souls, not earth. If one were to show us Paul bathed in tears, and groaning, would not this be better far to see, than countless choirs gayly crowned ? I am not now speaking of you ; but, if one, having pulled away from the theater and the stage some wanton fellow, burning and drunken with carnal love, were to show him a young virgin in the very flower of her age, sur passing her fellows, both in other respects, and in her face more than the rest of her person, having an eye, tenderand soft, that gently resteth, and gently rolleth, moist, mild, calmly smiling, and arrayed in much modesty and much grace, fringed with dark lashes both under and over, having an eyeball, so to speak, alive, a forehead radiant ; underneath, again, a cheek shaded to exact redness, lying smooth as marble, and even ; and then any one should showme Paul weeping ; leaving that maiden, I would have eagerly sprung away to the sight of him ; for from his eyes there 1 [This <rvva\yeiv was changed in most MSS. and the editions into trvvdyeii , " gather together." Hales conjectured crvva.\yelv. Field finds it in a MS. The other is indeed the more difficult read ing, and likely to have been altered into an easy one, but the diffi culty in this case becomes practically unintelligible. J. A. B.] beamed spiritual beauty. For that other trans- porteth the souls of youths, it scorcheth and in- flameth them ; but this, on the contrary, sub- dueth them. This maketh the eyes of the soul more beauteous, it curbeth the belly : it filleth with the love of wisdom, with much sympathy : and it is able to soften even a soul of adamant. With these tears the Church is watered, with these souls are planted ; yea, though there be fire sensible and substantial, yet can these tears quench it ; these tears quench the fiery darts of the wicked one. Remember we then these tears of his, and we shall laugh to scorn all present things. These tears did Christ pronounce blessed, saying, " Blessed are they that mourn, and blessed are they that weep, for they shall laugh." (Matt. v. 4; Luke vi. 21.) Such tears did Isaiah too, and Jeremiah weep ; and the former said, " Leave me alone, I will weep bitterly" (Isa. xxii. 4, Sept.) : and the latter, " Who will give my head water, and mine eyes fountains of tears?" (Jer. ix. i) ; as though the natural fount were not enough. Nothing is sweeter than these tears ; sweeter are they than any laughter. They that mourn, know how great consolation it possesseth. Let us not think this a thing to be deprecated, but one to be even exceedingly prayed for ; not that others may sin, but that, when they sin, we may be heart-broken for them. Remember we these tears, these bonds. Surely too upon those bonds tears descended ; but the death of the perish ing, of those that had bound him in them, suf fered him not to taste the pleasure of the bonds. For in their behalf he grieved, being a disciple ofHim that bewept the priests of the Jews ; not because they were going to crucify Him, but be cause they were themselves perishing. And He doeth not this Himself alone, but He thus ex- horteth others also, saying, " Daughters of Jeru salem, weep not for Me." (Luke xxiii. 28.) These eyes saw Paradise, saw the third heaven : but I count not them so blessed because of this- sight, as because of those tears, through which theysaw Christ. Blessed, indeed, was that sight ; for he himself even glories in it, saying, " Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord?" (i Cor. ix. i) ; but more blessed so to weep. In that sight many have been partakers, and those who have not so been, Christ the rather calls blessed, saying, " Blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed " (John xx. 29) ; but unto this not many have attained. For if to stay here for Christ s sake were more need ful than to depart to Him (Phil. i. 23, 24), for the sake of the salvation of others ; surely then to groan for others sakes, is more needful even than to see Him. For if for His sake to be in